I'm having trouble deciding on a major

[courtney1996]

I'm struggling to chose a major due to the fact that medical schools are widely accepting liberal arts or non-science majors. I've been told to major in something I enjoy, which is what I'm tempted to do, however my passions (other than medicine) lie in English Literature and Spanish. I love to read, travel, and am fascinated by foreign languages, not to mention the abundant opportunities available to study abroad. While I would thoroughly enjoy studying either of these subjects, I can't ignore the prospect of not getting accepted to medical school, in which case I would be forced to fall back on my major. There is no career outside of medicine involving a Spanish or English Lit degree that interests me. I've considered majoring in Biology, which I also love, however I'm worried that it wouldn't make me as interesting or well rounded as a candidate. The benefit of majoring in Bio would be that there are several career opportunities I would be willing to settle for in the event I am rejected from every school I apply to. As much as I love biology, I just feel that if I'm going to medical school to dedicate the rest of my life to science...I should have fun doing something completely unrelated during my years as an undergrad. I know that what I major in isn't remotely as important as other factors when working towards medical school, but it is very important to me personally. I guess what I'm looking for is a compromise (a minor, perhaps?) that would enable me to be regarded as an academically well-rounded candidate while simultaneously prepared for a future excluding medical school.

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[eteshoe]

Make a list of the top 5 majors you could see yourself doing -> then make a pros and cons for each -> narrow it down to two choices -> flip a coin -> if satisfied go w/ that option & if not go w/ the other

 

[gyngyn]

We don't care about your major or minor. Do well on the MCAT.

 

[RunawayGrape]

.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I'm struggling to chose a major due to the fact that medical schools are widely accepting liberal arts or non-science majors. I've been told to major in something I enjoy, which is what I'm tempted to do, however my passions (other than medicine) lie in English Literature and Spanish. I love to read, travel, and am fascinated by foreign languages, not to mention the abundant opportunities available to study abroad. While I would thoroughly enjoy studying either of these subjects, I can't ignore the prospect of not getting accepted to medical school, in which case I would be forced to fall back on my major. There is no career outside of medicine involving a Spanish or English Lit degree that interests me. I've considered majoring in Biology, which I also love, however I'm worried that it wouldn't make me as interesting or well rounded as a candidate. The benefit of majoring in Bio would be that there are several career opportunities I would be willing to settle for in the event I am rejected from every school I apply to. As much as I love biology, I just feel that if I'm going to medical school to dedicate the rest of my life to science...I should have fun doing something completely unrelated during my years as an undergrad. I know that what I major in isn't remotely as important as other factors when working towards medical school, but it is very important to me personally. I guess what I'm looking for is a compromise (a minor, perhaps?) that would enable me to be regarded as an academically well-rounded candidate while simultaneously prepared for a future excluding medical school.

I started out majoring in Bio and changed mid-semester first semester for the same reason--that I figured I'd be doing science for a long time and should do something I really enjoy that I may not have the chance to do after undergrad. I ended up majoring in math and taking a number of English Lit courses (particularly Shakespeare). It worked out. I had fun in almost all my courses, got a decent GPA (could be better, but I'm fairly satisfied given the ECs I sacrificed a perfect GPA for), and got involved in some cool research that I wouldn't have if I didn't major in math.

Do what you enjoy. You can do more than teach English with an English degree.

 

[iqq2much]

Choose a major/minor you enjoy and can do well in. Schools won't cut you some slack if you did poorly in a major/minor in an attempt to look "unique" and well rounded. Just take classes you really enjoy and want to learn that are outside of the premed/major requirements. (For Example) I ended choosing to be a Bio/Biochem major because it was convenient and I really liked the subject matter. I am still able to take classes like Astronomy, Computer Programming, Poetry, Spanish, Asian Literature and the like to make myself "well rounded" and for pure enjoyment.

 

[Jarteblu]

I'd go with Spanish. How attractive would you be if you could communicate with the ~55 million hispanics in America ?

 

[RangerBob]

Minors are useless--no one cares about them. 90% of the time I forget that I even have one. The only reason I got one, (and in my mind the only valid reason to get a minor) is if you don't have to take any extra classes to get it. In of themselves, minors don't make you more well rounded--taking courses that challenge you/interest you, and pursuing hobbies beyond just the basic entry-level is what will make you more well rounded.

Now, regarding your majors, that's a more important decision. Obviously one option is to double major (Spanish would make you very marketable, and would help a ton in medicine). But if you don't see yourself using that Spanish or English Lit degree to get a job, then you should not pick one of them to be your primary major. I'm all for majoring in something because you love it--I majored in photography because I love it and wanted to take photo and art courses every quarter. But my primary major was picked to help get me into a graduate architecture program. I changed my mind and ended up doing a post-bac, but I'm glad I didn't pursue just photography as my only major as I didn't to make a living as a professional photographer.

The odds are if you pursue a career in science, you will get a graduate degree anyway. A BA/BS is not a terminal degree for someone who wants to do science (unless you're teaching high school), so just pick whatever degree is interesting/manageable and can help guide you into a masters/PhD program if science really is your next choice after medicine.

If bio is what you enjoy and where you see yourself, then major in that. If I were in your shoes I might just major in bio and then take a bunch of Spanish and English Lit courses (why chose one--do both!). The odds are you wouldn't be able to double major that way, but you have to ask yourself if there's really a point to the double major. In my case declaring art as a major let me register early for classes (photo filled up right away otherwise), and I wanted to take so many courses it really wasn't going to be any extra work anyway.

Keep in mind with Spanish, it's generally not the degree that will get you a job or open doors, it's the proficiency.